Inhuman Special #1

There’s not much to dislike about Inhuman Special. It’s got Spider-Man, the Inhumans, the NuHumans, a classic hero-turned-villain, and a pretty heavy hitting storyline. Another one of Marvel’s famous three-part specials, this story continues from Amazing Spider-Man and continues in All-New Captain America, and focuses on a huge conflict in New Attilan, which sits just outside of New York City.  

For those that haven’t been keeping up, a while back, Black Bolt, king of the Inhumans, in order to bring his people into a new age, set off a Terrigen mist bomb that gave powers to a ton of people (including Ms. Marvel, the blind guy from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Toro) who didn’t know they had Inhuman ancestors (sound familiar?). Everyone besides him and his crazy brother thought it was a bad idea because it disfigured a bunch of people who didn’t ask for it and created a ton of conflict, but it turns out it also messed up a whole race of people.

Enter Red Raven, a golden age hero who used to team up with Captain America and the rest of the Invaders. He retired, lived, loved, and raised a family with some distant relatives of the Inhumans, but all of that changed when the Terrigen Bomb hit. That society, because of its unique genetic variation, got totally destroyed by the mists, and Red Raven is out for revenge/justice.

The best stories, I think, are ones where the villains’ interests are just as valid as the heroes’. Red Raven has a legitimate right to be upset by what happened, and the list of problems that Black Bolt has caused keeps getting longer. This flub, though, isn’t something that’s easily forgotten or resolved. Tensions continue to built and Black Bolt and the Inhumans are soon going to have to face the consequences of the mistakes they’ve made. With the Inhumans taking such a big role in the Marvel Cinematic I have a feeling that we’ll be feeling the effects of this storyline’s inevitable climax for a long time to come.

[Inhuman Special #1 on comiXology]

Jonah Chuang is a Production Coordinator Assistant at comiXology. He’s got Avengers fever and his prescription can’t be filled until May 1st.